Boris VS Ken : Fight!

Lets keep this one short because I’ll admit that I’m not the most politically savvy person to grace WordPress. The picture above is from my own twisted mind!

It’s Thursday evening and I have, like a a million other Londoners hopefully, casted my vote ahead of the Mayor’s election where results tomorrow evening will let us know if we have a new Mayor in town.  An eve-of-poll survey for the London Evening Standard  suggested Conservative incumbent Boris Johnson was set for victory over Labour’s Ken Livingstone, by a margin of 53% to 47%. It is a tiny margin and its no surprise: neither are very much liked and whilst other candidates, such as Brian Paddick and Siobhan Benita ( a Guile and a Chun-li respectively, both good but easily beatable), present a fresh alternatives, it is felt neither have really got enough fuel and drive in their tanks to lead as Mayor of London. Which leaves us with Boris and Ken, the two best of a mediocre bunch. The Ryu and Ken of the lot. Boring, but tried and tested.

I will be open enough to admit that I have voted for good ol’ Boris. Not that I’m his biggest fan or that he is a vast amount better than Ken Livingstone, but you get a feeling that the guy has a better idea on how to run London and embraces the spins and twists of time, unlike ol’ Ken.  And Boris brings a tad more sense of realism… I attended one of his Mayors Question times at City Hall and was impressed at the way he stood his ground against some green-eyed MP’s whilst showing that his answers and propositions indicated to a man who had done his research. The guy clearly loves London and wants to glorify the city with schemes and developments under the noses of its citizens, and at the expense of our pockets (Transport fares), but we can at least thank him for the bicycle hire scheme known as “Boris bikes” (an idea he took from the French without a doubt), banning alcohol consumption on buses and tubes,  investing millions in the development of a new “routemaster” after ditching the “bendy bus” and the cable car sponsorship deal with Emirates (£34 or £35 million pound that deal was if I’m correct), which could be said to have made us Londoners look a bit cheap to the endlessly wealthy Arabs but but hey, its hard enough to generate a £50 deal in this economic climate, so to make a £30 something million pound agreement is not a bad move after all. My biggest criticism towards Boris would be his inability to find a solution towards halting the rise of public transport fares. If you as a fellow Londoner are reading this then you will know what I’m talking about. Our transport system and reliability is APPALLING. And the money we pay to travel does not in away justify the services we receive. But I will ramble on about transport another day.

Ken Livingstone promised to cut those fares and to also boost affordable-home building in London.. The man who introduced the beloved Congestion charge when he first became Mayor, he is known as as an outspoken, independent and often combative figure. Except that you cannot shake off his idea of cutting fares down to 7%  this year ,freeze them throughout 2013 and bar above-inflation rises from 2014 as ludicrous. It is just too good to be true isn’t it? Where would this leave our reserves used to fund projects and current developments?   Too many Hadookens, not enough mobility. My scepticism is what led me to vote for Boris .  And my gut feeling tells me that Boris will Dragon-Punch his way into victory tomorrow evening.  But whoever wins or loses, the next London Mayor will have to work his socks off to impress us Londoners, because believe you me, if it wasn’t for my broke self, I’d be out abroad a long time ago seeking a life closer to the sun.